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James Holmes Hearing: Judge Orders Trial, But Insanity Debate Begins

A Colorado judge has ordered accused mass killer James Eagan Holmes to stand trial for his July 2012 theater rampage in Aurora, Colo. — but the wheels of justice, now beginning to turn, will move slowly.

A Colorado judge has ordered accused mass killer James Eagan Holmes to stand trial for his July 2012 theater rampage in Aurora, Colo. — but the wheels of justice, now beginning to turn, will move slowly.

On Thursday, Arapahoe County Judge William Sylvester ruled that Holmes will face a jury on 166 counts of murder, attempted murder and other crimes, in an attack that killed 12 people and wounded 58 at a July 20 midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises. But less than a day later, Sylvester postponed Holmes’ arraignment until March 12, in order to give the prosecution and defense enough time to properly prepare for the case; the judge is expected to hand down formal charges on Friday.

Angry family members protested inside the courtroom while prosecutors argued they were ready to proceed with the arraignment immediately. The delay gives Holmes’ lawyers more time to prepare what will likely be an insanity plea and defense. If so the high-profile trial, which some are comparing to that of Tuscon, Ariz., shooter Jared Lee Loughner, will bring debates over the definition of criminal insanity into play. Any eventual jury in this case will have to decide if Holmes was in his right mind as the tragedy unfolded, and if his actions — which included the use of a small arsenal of weapons and explosives — were calculated and premeditated.

“In this case it’s clear that the prosecution has a very heavy burden,” says Barry Slotnick, the New York defense attorney who represented the so-called “Subway Vigilante” Bernhard Goetz in a famous 1986 shooting trial. “The jury is going to be told by the defense that he had no understanding of the nature of his acts and that he was absolutely beyond being a reasonable human being.”

The death penalty has been discussed in the Aurora case ever since Holmes’ arrest, but prosecutors have not said whether or not they will pursue it, citing a number of factors including taking into account the feelings of victims’ families. Executions are legal in Colorado, though rare; only one person has been put to death since the state reesstablished capital punishment in 1976. Slotnick said that prosecutors could possibly opt against pursuing execution and instead try to get a life sentence rather than risk the defense winning on an insanity plea.

However, an insanity plea might be difficult to defend as well. No mass murder case in recent history has been successfully defended on such a plea, says Michael Perlin, director of the Mental Disability Law Program at New York Law School. What is important is whether Holmes is competent — and can remain competent — to undergo a trial. “It has nothing to do with guilt or innocence, it has to do with whether he can participate,” said Perlin, noting that Colorado law states that a defendant must be found competent before he can even enter an insanity plea. “If you plead insanity, you have conceded that you have done the act, but ‘I did it because I was defending the Klingon Empire’ or something of that nature.”

The case now becomes more complex as both sides take the next two months to prepare for an arraignment. Either the prosecutors or defense lawyers may argue to the judge that Holmes is not mentally capable of understanding his circumstances and cannot help his own defense. In that instance, Sylvester could order a mental evaluation and ultimately rule that Holmes is, in fact, incompetent to stand trial. If the judge finds that Holmes can face a jury, however, then he is expected to enter a plea of guilty, not guilty or no contest at his March arraignment. Subsequent proceedings — including picking a jury to hear the case — could, like Loughner’s, take months or even years to play out, particularly if the prosecution decides to pursue the death penalty.

Either way, James Eagan Holmes likely won’t walk free again regardless of the verdict. Even if he is found to be not guilty by reason of mentally illness, he will almost certainly be institutionalized. “The fact of the matter is that if he’s acquitted of murder by reason of insanity, it doesn’t mean he goes home,” Slotnick says. “It means he goes into an institution.”

I don't care what his mental state was, I don't care if he was abused, I don't even care if he knew what he was doing or not. None of that changes the fact that he murdered all of those people in cold blood, and that's all that matters. He no longer deserves to breath the same air as the rest of us and needs to be put down like the animal that he is, quickly.

@EmileighHigdon First off with all of his per-medidated planning he knew exactly what he was doing. He also warned the cops about the apartment booby traps probably because he knew if he killed a couple of his captors he would pay dearly under their control. When his arse was on the line he could think, Right? Where is any depth of thought in your mind. This whole country is becoming unglued at the seems due to the lack of basic common sense from many. The defense attorneys look for the clueless of thought for the jury. I hope your no where near.

@EmileighHigdon@DaveFerraro You don't spend the amount of time he obviously spent planning this massacre if you don't know what you're doing. He methodically planned and carried out this attack and shot 70 people, killing 12 in cold blood. Period. His attorneys are doing nothing more than trying to manipulate the system with this ridiculous i"insanity" defense.

And no, he is an animal. A person doesn't murder 12 people. How dare you sympathize with a murdering scumbag like him.

When are they going to arrest the school psychologist who let this animal continue on without getting him put in the observation tank? She should lose her license at a minimum for dereliction of her duties and obligations.

Ah, so James Holmes doesn't even need to go to trial, since he is all ready being publically flogged in the media? Same ol' scenario...Shooting tragedy, lone gunman, crazy picture posted on the AP and all over the media, gunman is either shot, commits suicide or committed so we, the people will never, ever know the truth...buried at sea, so to speak. Is that the new normal?

@livefortodayok So I guess you'd let him go with a slap on the wrist huh? Sure he deserves a fair trial,but an insanity plea is not warranted. Just because a person might be off their rocker is no excuse to let them get away with murder.

How could someone like this fckg coward who planned out his massacre, booby trapped his house/apt, and even impressed the bombsquad in the setup of his booby trap, and trying to study neuroscience, be a frkn insane - looney? He just not want to answer for his crime! He is very lucky he is here in our great country of USA. If he was in another country, which I will not say, he'll be taken out of jail without question and chopped up! F U Holmes!

In my personal opinion,The insanity plea is BS. A crazy person can kill just like anyone else and should face the same penalty No time in a mental institution, he should get either prison or the death penalty. I vote for the death penalty.

@damthis2 And thus you completely miss the point of the penal system. A genuinely insane person cannot be held responsible for his/her actions, and they did not make decisions of sound mind, and putting them in prison instead of a jail would be cruel and unusual punishment.